Hi there — happy weekend!

I don’t know about you, but I am so happy to see the gorgeous signs of spring here in Charleston- flowers popping up, azaleas blooming, lots of green things re-appearing. Best of all, it’s 73 today!  (Being the Southerner that I am, 73 is still cold, cold , cold. Not quite time to bring out the sundresses and shorts, yet)!

Since it’s St. Patty’s Day weekend, I had to post about something GREEN. Nothing looked more beautiful at the grocery store than asparagus. I love the slender, skinny stalks of asparagus because they get nice and crispy when they roast…especially the tips, yum!

I wanted to make an asparagus cheese tart –– and realized I had everything on hand except puff pastry!!! Ahh — that’s a major problem. I had butter and flour,  so I decided to try my hand at homemade puff pastry –– what. was. I. thinking??  I mean, it was a fun experiment, but I’ll let Whole Foods handle that from now on 😉

Result: It turned out great, and I think you should try it at least once — it’s cool to watch it come together. Similar to making pie crust, but with much more time and attention to detail required. The taste was so fresh — the combo of cheeses adds a lot more flavor.

Lovely Green!

This is what it looks like before rolling it out..

Also before rolling..

Butter makes it puffy 🙂

Covered with Asparagus and Cheese

Final Product!

It makes a fresh spring meal paired with lightly-dressed mixed greens and a cold glass of wine. The edges are the best part — nice and crispy from the pastry and the cheese. Yum!! Hope you enjoy!

Asparagus Cheese Tart

• 1 Sheet Puff Pastry (Recipe Here)
• 1 cup of gruyere, shredded
• 1 cup of smoked gouda, shredded
• 1.5 lbs. skinny asparagus
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle, roughly the size of your sheet tray. The edges don’t have to be perfect — this is a rustic tart.

Place the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet tray. Pierce with a fork allover. Bake for about 10 minutes. This ensures the pastry gets crispy. Remove from oven. Add salt and pepper to the puff pastry. Top with the shredded cheese. Top the cheese with the asparagus. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden and crisp.